1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention pertains to a method of pre cooking bacon by placing bacon in a single layer on perforated greaseproof interleaving paper.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
In the past, pre-cooked bacon has been prepared by slicing bacon into single layers onto an oven belt which is conveyed to a heater, such as a microwave oven, wherein the bacon is cooked to a yield of approximately 30 to 40 percent. Cooking the bacon produces large quantities of bacon grease. The precooked bacon is conveyed out of the heater and is cooled to ambient temperatures suitable by employing ambient air chillers such as Heco Modulars available from the Enersyst Company. The bacon slices may optionally be refrigerated to 35.degree. F. Because the bacon has been cooked on an oven belt, which retains large amounts of grease on its surface, it is necessary before packing to remove the bacon from the belt it was cooked on and put it on to grease-free, interleaving paper. Such a step is done manually with workers removing the slices from the cooking belt with spatulas and transferring the cooked bacon to interleaving paper. After this has occurred, the bacon on interleaving paper is stacked and vacuum packed for shipment.
Methods of packing bacon have been described in the prior art and the following are representative examples of patents dealing with bacon packaging.